10 Centimeters

My brother ad his wife came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. My boys L.O.V.E. love Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly and have a major case of hero worship when it comes to Uncle Tj. Everything Uncle Tj does is cool and has to be imitated. Take for example Noah's new buzz cut...he had to look like Uncle Tj.
This really does not bother me. I am not jealous of my brother's cool factor in the least. I am glad that my kids look up to him, I just wish that they would not repeat everything he says.
This time when my brother was home, he was privileged to be at the hospital when his sister-in-law gave birth to her first child. My brother was fascinated by the "board" on the wall that showed the progression of childbirth and was amazed that a woman's body was capable of doing such things. (I happen to think that ten centimeters is not large at all...have you seen the size of what has to come out of that ten centimeter opening?)
Unfortunately Noah was paying too close attention and now thinks it is appropriate to start a conversation with "Do you know how big ten centimeters is?" Of course my Mother-in-law happened to be the first one that he tried out his new line on. He even held out his fingers just like Uncle Tj had showed him to demonstrate the actual size of ten centimeters.
Thanks Tj....I owe you one.

Green Eyed Monster

***DISCLAIMER***

I love my Father and Brother both and I am very proud of their accomplishments. ***End Disclaimer.

My Dad is running for City Council. Our local newspaper did an article on him that ran in today's paper. It was a very nice article (albeit somewhat narcissistic) about all of his volunteer work and service on various boards and committees. However, the last paragraph of the article made my blood boil. This is it, verbatim.

Godley has a son currently serving in the U.S. Marines and a daughter. He has three grandsons.

I am sure most of you know the mixed emotions in which I view my status as compared to my brother's status. If not, read my post here about the bumper sticker our Mom has on her car.
I am happy that the article mentioned my brother's profession. He has a very important job and deserves a lot of credit for the work that he does. The part that upsets me is; and a daughter ...period. I repeat, and a daughter...period. AAAK! Are you kidding me?
The part about the three grandsons was a nice touch. It would have been a nicer touch had they mentioned that I gave birth to them and that I have devoted my life to raising them.
Okay, so maybe my Dad isn't the only narcissist in the family. Or maybe I am blowing this way out of proportion, but someone out there has got to agree with me. Does anyone see my point of view?

Jealousy?

Most of you know that my brother Tj is a marine stationed in San Angelo, TX. My Mom is very proud of him and has this bumper sticker on her car that says, "My son is a marine." Those of you who have siblings know about brother/sister rivalry, and understand why I can't help but be a little irritated by this. Not that the sticker bothers me, I am proud of my brother as well. What I am bothered by is the fact that there is no sticker displaying how proud she is of me! I was going to buy her one for Christmas, but I looked around and could not find one that suited my needs. I had several in mind such as, "My daughter is a college graduate" or "My daughter gave birth to my two grandsons". We could even change that to "three grandsons" in March. However, my personal favorite is "Proud Mom of a SAHM!" If anyone knows where I could find these or have one made please let me know. It only has to be a couple inches bigger than the current marine sticker that is displayed.
Enough of that, I really am proud of my brother and it is great to have him home with Holly this year for Christmas. Today they took Noah with them to visit Paris Island, the base where Tj attended boot camp. Noah said he had a lot of fun and I'm sure Tj drilled it into his head the whole time how great the marines are. However, somehow Noah must have gotten something twisted because as I type this he is marching around the house chanting "Ar-my, Ar-my, Ar-my" and trying to convince Jonah to join him. My brother is going to be mortified to know that after spending an entire day on a marine corp base with him, his nephew has come home to cheer for the Army. That thought puts a smile on my face and is almost enough to make up for the bumper sticker thing. Some say this is jealousy talking, I say it is sweet revenge. Ha Ha Ha!

New Words

Jonah has started saying many new words. He likes to copy anything he hears and give it his own version. The other day, Noah and I were talking about Uncle Tj and Aunt Holly. All of a sudden Jonah started screaming Tj, Tj, Tj, at the top of his lungs. I know he probably does not even know what he was saying, he just heard a word and tried it out, but it was just too cute. Noah says that it does not count as a real word because he hasn't said Uncle with it, but I have a feeling Uncle Tj will disagree.